If there's one movie I probably haven't watched enough times, it would be "It's a Wonderful Life". The characters, the situations, the message all come together in a way that intrinsically defines it as a Christmas movie, but when you get right down to it, the film transcends Christmas in a way that's truly heartwarming and magical. Jimmy Stewart had that unique ability to put the Everyman into his roles, and this picture certainly qualifies as one of his finest performances. Donna Reed could not have been a better choice to play Mary, displaying a wholesome sex appeal to go along with those traditional home town American values that pictures of the era were so skillful in portraying. Had Director Frank Capra made only this one picture, it would have earned him recognition as one of the true masters of cinema. I could go on and on, but there's really no point in trying to heap further accolades on a picture that has earned it's place in American film right at the top. Watch it, and watch it again, and in taking the picture's message to heart, reach out and help an angel earn it's wings.
Review of It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
(1946)
"Each man's life touches so many other lives".
18 December 2010
Warning: Spoilers